


In a Dangerous Time

by xenoglossy



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arguing, Established Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-22 15:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9613583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenoglossy/pseuds/xenoglossy
Summary: Sakura is one of the Future Foundation's greatest assets in fighting Despair. Aoi is terrified.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PerfidiousFate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfidiousFate/gifts).



Sakura should be back by now, Aoi thought.

Of course, it wasn’t like fighting the Remnants of Despair was a job with set hours, so there was no specific time by which Sakura should be back, but it had been hours and she’d been supposed to just be doing a routine patrol, so where was she?

Aoi herself had finished her work for the day a little while ago, which was not helping, because now she had nothing to take her mind off things. She’d go back to work, but she was waiting on a few other people to get back to her about numbers--she couldn’t work on allocating resources until she knew how much resource there was to allocate.

She wished there were somewhere to swim. Maybe she’d resubmit that request for the Future Foundation to construct a swimming pool. In the meantime she’d have to be content with pacing around the room that she shared with Sakura, although the sharing was more theoretical these days than she’d have liked.

Finally, just when Aoi was thinking she was going to have to go take her frustrations out on a punching bag or else she would literally scream, Sakura came in the door. Her hair was a mess, her shirt was torn, and she was spattered with at least mud--Aoi suspected there was blood in there too.

“There was some trouble,” Sakura offered by way of explanation.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

Sakura shook her head. “It was a minor skirmish, nothing more.” She found a handkerchief and began trying to tidy herself up a bit.

Aoi sat on the bed and watched her do this for a few minutes, then said, “I’m going to go get dinner in a few minutes. Wanna come?”

“I’m not especially hungry. You go ahead.”

“You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to. Just keep me company?”

Sakura didn’t respond.

“Come on, Sakura, I never see you anymore.”

“I wish I could spend more time with you as well, but I must be ready for the Remnants of Despair whenever they should choose to strike,” Sakura said placidly, picking up her hairbrush. “They aren’t especially concerned about whether I have free time.”

“Yeah, and neither is the Future Foundation. You could tell them no sometimes, couldn’t you? Let someone else go. You’re not the only one who can fight.”

“I have my job to do, just as you have yours. I would never tell you to ignore your work so that we could spend more time together.”

“It’s not the same thing at all,” Aoi said, feeling a stab of annoyance. Why was Sakura always so  _ calm _ ? “I’m here in this building all day doing stupid paperwork, not off personally kicking the enemy in the face. You could come see me anytime. If you were here. Which you’re not.”

“I’ve told you, I can’t help that. What would you have me do?”

“I don’t  _ know _ !” Aoi winced inwardly--she sounded like such a whiny child. “I just--I don’t know how I’m supposed to be in a relationship with someone who’s never here. Those magazines I used to read always said it was important to make time for each other, and I know they weren’t accounting for the apocalypse, but sometimes I feel like next to your all-important duty, I--I may as well not even  _ exist _ ! ”

They looked at each other in silence for a long moment.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Sakura said at last.

“Fine,” said Aoi flatly, and left to get dinner by herself.

\---

They barely spoke for the rest of the evening. By the time they were getting ready for bed, Aoi couldn’t stand the silence anymore, and blurted out, “I’m sorry I was a jerk earlier. I didn’t mean all of that. It’s just... I get so scared, you know? Every time you go out I think maybe this is the time that you won’t come back.”

“I know,” Sakura said. “But this is something I can do--something  _ only _ I can do--to keep the world from falling entirely to Despair. I can’t abandon that duty.”

“That’s it?” said Aoi, making a half-hearted attempt to inject some humor into her tone. “You’re not gonna reassure me that you’re indestructible or anything?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“If anything did happen to you, I would destroy them,” Aoi said. It hadn’t been what she’d intended to say, but as soon as she had said it she knew that she meant it. “I wouldn’t stop until every last Remnant was dead.”

“No,” said Sakura.

“What d’you mean, no?” Aoi said. “It’s not so different from what you’re doing now, is it?”

“Out of necessity,” Sakura said, “not out of a desire for revenge. If I were to die, I would not have you throw your life away on anger and vengeance. I would want you to survive, and be happy.”

Aoi looked away. “I don’t know how I’d do that without you.”

“You would find a way,” Sakura said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Aoi found the touch somehow reassuring, even though Sakura’s words completely failed to be. “I believe in you.”

Aoi swallowed hard and didn’t answer, not trusting her voice to stay steady.

“Anyway,” Sakura said, “I believe I owe you an apology as well.”

“Oh, no, of course not!” said Aoi. “I mean, I was the one who was wrong.”

Sakura shook her head. “I wasn’t listening to you.” The corner of her mouth quirked into an almost invisible smile. “The magazines always said that was important too, didn’t they?”

“I guess so. But what difference does it make? I was asking you to do something you can’t do.”

“I can’t stop fighting, that’s true,” Sakura said, “but I can ensure that we spend more time together when I am here. To start with, perhaps we could have lunch together tomorrow?”

“I’d like that!” Aoi said. “Assuming the Remnants of Despair don’t decide to attack right at noon.”

That being settled, they climbed into bed, and Aoi curled up against Sakura, feeling her solidity, her warmth. The two of them might not have forever, but from now on, Aoi hoped, maybe they’d at least be able to make the best of right now.


End file.
